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Laurence Michael Yep

ローレンス・イェップ

Rōrensu Yeppu

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1948-06-14 （San Francisco (Chinatown), California, United States）
Nationality
United States
Languages
English
Religion
Roman Catholic
Residence History
San Francisco (Chinatown), California, United States → Pacific Grove, Monterey County, California, United States

Career

Occupations
Writer, Playwright, Children's author
Active Years
1973-
Affiliations
University of California, Berkeley (faculty), University of California, Santa Barbara (faculty)

Education

St. Ignatius College Preparatory
Period: 〜1966
Year of Graduation: 1966
Country: United States
High school diploma
Marquette University
Period: 1966–1968
Country: United States
Attended for two years before transferring to UC Santa Cruz
University of California, Santa Cruz
College of Arts and Humanities / English
Degree: B.A.
Period: 1968–1970
Year of Graduation: 1970
Country: United States
Earned a B.A. in English
University at Buffalo, The State University of New York
Graduate studies (Literature) / English
Degree: Ph.D.
Period: 不明
Country: United States
Earned a PhD in English (year not specified)

Awards

Newbery Honor
1975
Work: Dragonwings
Organization: Association for Library Service to Children (American Library Association)
Result: 受賞（Newbery Honor）
Newbery Honor
1994
Work: Dragon's Gate
Organization: Association for Library Service to Children (American Library Association)
Result: 受賞（Newbery Honor）
Boston Globe–Horn Book Award (Children's Fiction)
1977
Work: Child of the Owl
Category: Children's Fiction
Organization: Boston Globe–Horn Book Awards committee
Result: 受賞
Phoenix Award
1995
Work: Dragonwings
Organization: Children's Literature Association
Result: 受賞
Children's Literature Legacy Award
2005
Organization: Association for Library Service to Children (American Library Association)
Result: 受賞（生涯貢献）
Carter G. Woodson Book Award
1976
Work: Dragonwings
Organization: Carter G. Woodson Book Award committee
Result: 受賞
Boston Globe–Horn Book Award (Runner-up)
1989
Work: The Rainbow People
Organization: Boston Globe–Horn Book Awards committee
Result: ランナーアップ

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Dragonwings

1975 Children's literature / Historical fiction

Set in early 20th-century San Francisco, a family and immigrant story focusing on a father-son relationship, confronting prejudice, and a young person's dreams of flight and engineering.

immigration experiencefamilycultural identityracismaspiration and technology
Adaptations
  • [Play] Dragonwings (play)

Dragon's Gate

1993 Children's literature / Historical fiction

Part of the Golden Mountain Chronicles, it depicts mid-19th-century Chinese immigrants and the hardships surrounding railroad construction, focusing on labor, survival, and solidarity.

laborimmigrationracismsurvival and solidarity

Child of the Owl

1977 Children's literature

A coming-of-age story about a Chinese-American boy that explores cultural dislocation and the search for identity.

cultural identitycoming-of-agefamily

Sea Glass

1979 Children's literature / Family novel

Part of the Golden Mountain Chronicles, it follows youth and family tensions set around the 1970s.

familyintergenerational conflictcultural inheritance

The Serpent's Children

1984 Historical fiction / Children's literature

A volume in the Golden Mountain Chronicles that tells a family story against the backdrop of mid-19th-century immigrant history.

immigrant historyfamilyadaptation

Dragon Road

2007 Children's literature / Historical fiction

A chronicle installment depicting the hardships and resilience of immigrants in the early 20th century (originally titled The Red Warrior).

war and immigrationfamilycourage

Dragons of Silk

2011 Children's literature / Novel

A later installment spanning family history from 1835 to the contemporary era.

multigenerational narrativeimmigrant journeymemory and history

Sweetwater

1973 Young adult / Science fiction

An early science-fiction novel for young adults, representing Yep's early entry into publishing.

science fictionyouth adventurecoming-of-age

Bibliography

  • Dragonwings
  • Dragon's Gate
  • Child of the Owl
  • The Rainbow People
  • Sweetwater
  • The Lost Garden (autobiography)
  • The Tiger's Apprentice
  • The City of Dragons
  • Dragon of the Lost Sea
  • Dragon Steel
  • Dragon Cauldron
  • Dragon War
  • The Serpent's Children
  • Mountain Light
  • Dragon Road
  • Sea Glass
  • Thief of Hearts
  • Dragons of Silk
  • The Khan's Daughter
  • The Magic Paintbrush

Adaptations

  • Dragonwings (stage adaptation)
  • The Tiger's Apprentice (feature animated film, world premiere 2024)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
lyrical, descriptive proseincorporation of folktale and Chinese myth elements into modern narrativesclear, accessible storytelling for children and young adults
Recurring Motifs
cultural outsider and identity explorationfamily bondsimmigrant labor historymetaphorical use of legends and mythology

Legacy

Laurence Yep is a major voice in American children's literature, particularly known for depicting Chinese-American experiences (e.g., the Golden Mountain Chronicles). He has explored cultural outsider issues and identity, leaving a lasting impact on children's literature.

Academic Societies

  • Children's Literature Association
  • Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC)

Archives

  • Library of Congress (related records)
  • Publisher archives (Harper & Row / HarperCollins)

In Popular Culture

  • The Tiger's Apprentice (animated film, released 2024)

Quotes

  • “I was too American to fit into Chinatown, and too Chinese to fit in anywhere else.”
    Source: Interview (Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 2001) (2001)

Trivia

  • Married writer Joanne Ryder in 1984.
  • Worked in the family grocery store as a child; has said he learned to observe people there.
  • Published his first story in a science fiction magazine at age 18.
  • Resides in Pacific Grove, Monterey County.